Homemade Caramel Popcorn

I had a sweet tooth over the weekend and there was nothing sweet in the house (I got rid of all the temptations) so I made a delicious snack that takes a couple minutes to put together. I raided my cupboard and found that I only had popcorn, so I made caramel popcorn.

Step One:
Prepare the Caramel Sauce. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon light-colored corn syrup (optional)
1/2 cup whipping or heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (optional)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)

Methods

In a medium to large saucepan, add the sugar, water, corn syrup and bring to a boil over high heat, whisking until the sugar has dissolved.
Allow the mixture to boil for 5 to 12 minutes until it turns caramel colored. Keep a watchful eye as sugar boils quickly and can easily burn. Stir when necessary to prevent a built of crystallized sugar on the corners of the pan.
As soon as the sauce has turned caramel-colored, reduce the heat to low.
Carefully and slowly, add the cream. Be careful, the mixture will bubble.
Carefully add the vanilla and salt to taste.
Whisk until sauce is smooth and combined; allow it to boil for another minute, to allow the sauce to thicken.
Transfer sauce to glass jar or heat-safe. Allow sauce to cool uncovered to room temperature; sauce thickens considerably as it cools. If the sauce gets too thick, add warm water and mix thoroughly to thin it out.
Sauce will keep airtight at room temp for about one month.

Step Two:
Pop the corn. I use Goya Yellow Popcorn. You can use any popcorn you like or any plain microwave popcorn.